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Delaware continuing to monitor White Nose Syndrome with help from federal money

DNREC
Big brown bat hibernating at Fort Delaware

Delaware is among the states receiving federal funds to help contain and eradicate White Nose Syndrome in bats.

White Nose Syndrome is a fungal disease that primarily affects hibernating bats and has wiped out 5.7 to 6.7 million throughout North America over the last decade.

Affected species include the little brown, big brown, tri-colored, northern long-eared and eastern small-footed bats. All of these species are found in Delaware and the northern long-eared and little brown bats are considered endangered species as of 2014.

Fort Delaware State Park is one location where White Nose Syndrome has been detected.

White Nose Syndrome is a fungal disease that primarily affects hibernating bats

 After being awarded over $22,000 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control plans to use the money to continue its work to reduce the amount of fungus present at Fort Delaware.

“We don’t want people to pick up fungus and travel to some place far away where bats can’t travel,” said Holly Niederriter, a wildlife biologist from DNREC. “For instance, we don’t want someone traveling to California to pick up the fungus [in Delaware], take it to California and spread it to bats in California. That is the sort of thing we’re trying to avoid.”

Because the spores from White Nose Syndrome can attach themselves to shoes or clothes, biologists began to think of ways to prevent the spread; in 2012, rules were put in place at Fort Delaware that require visitors to wear a pair of white booties over their shoes at the fort’s Endicott Section.

Niederriter said biologists have actually been testing for the fungus since 2010.

“The bats that hibernate at Fort Delaware are impacted by the disease, there’s no doubt about that,” Niederriter said.

But when they began testing six years ago, they had no idea the disease was actually present in the state.

“There’s not a lot we can do other than trying to decrease the amount of the fungus that’s present that we can do for our bats, so we are working to do that with this money,” Niederriter said.

Niederriter added that the federal money also allows DNREC to continue to look for places where bats hibernate as it seeks to contain the disease.

In a press release announcing the grant, USFWS Northeast Regional Director Wendi Weber said states will respond to the disease differently, based on how long it has been present in each individual state.

“Where it has been established, the focus is on increasing survival of bats,” Weber said. “On the leading edge of the disease front, it’s also on limiting the spread, and where the disease has not been discovered, it’s on preventing the arrival of WNS. With this funding, we’re happy to help the states on all fronts to defeat this deadly disease.”

This is the seventh year federal money is being allocated to monitor the presence of White Nose Syndrome and fight its spread in Delaware. Thirty-three other states and the District of Columbia are receiving funding as well, which totals almost $1 million.

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